February 2009 Archives

Well, last night we got another different viewpoint on the Hmong culture.For this week we had 3 CSP students as our guest speakers. Xang Lee, PaHoua Yang and Xia Yang all spoke with us for about 2 hours. We covered everything from their Past in Thailand, coming to America and their life now. It was very interesting to see our own peers up there in front of the class room. For me, it made the experiences much more real. All three were born in refugee camps in Thailand and immigrated from those at various points. They discussed nearly everything in those two hours! Xia learned what exactly a placenta is as we learned about the different cultural practices of the Hmong.We learned from first-hand experiences the gender division within the culture and the different practices of their religion. We even discussed a previous assignment, Gran Torino.

The way that this discussion was carried out really changed my perspective on the Hmong culture. With every other speaker we have had, it felt like we were learning something completely foreign to us. As I heard people my own age speak of their lives in refugee camps and travel to america, all the stories seemed so much more relatable. Of all the mediums we have had to learn about the culture, this has by far been my favorite. I loved watching the Hmong culture come out between the three of them as they spoke. None of them them had been trained to come speak to us, so all they had to share with us were their real- life experiences. For that reason, these three speakers have by far been my favorite. 

As you know, the focus of this semester in Honors is Hearing the Voices of Immigrants. Today we heard those voices in yet another way, through art. This month's convocation was an art show centered around the book of the year The Middle of Everywhere. Approximately 5 different artists displayed their art for all to see along the hallway. At first I was very overwhelmed, if I didn't have to work at 1 I could have been there much longer. For the first 15 minutes we were allowed to walk freely up and down the hallway viewing the different artworks. Then all the artists that could make it spoke to us about the pieces they were presenting. The artist that stuck out the most to me wing Wing Young Huie.

Wing Young Huie's photo that he shared was one of many pieces in a large project he is doing. He is currently photographing different aspects of life, more specifically immigrant life, along University Ave. As well as photographing along University, he's going into the different neighborhoods and exploring the culture there as well. Obviously this caught my attention since we are so close to University Ave. The project is supposed to be finished and displayed along the streets of University sometime in 2010. I think the concept for this project is very interesting and am excited to see the finished project. On the MPR website, there is a glimpse into the finished project. He mentioned the possibility of needing volunteers when it comes time to display, so I think I may do that when the time comes. I just think this project is so intriging and would love to learn more about it as well as all the culture that encompases this area.

A comment left on Wing's website for a similar project on Lake Street explains my feelings very well. The anonymous comment reads...

"These photos show us, real and valuable just as we are. They are sad because they aren't the perfect images of others we're used to seeing. They are empowering for the same reason. Thanks, for these images and a chance to respond. Peace"

I've only lived in Minnnesota for 5 years, and only one of those was really in the Twin Cities. The level of diversity and culture is just so exciting to me. I think it is very important that Wing is taking the time to photograph and share the different stories the city. What I like the most is the way he is presenting the finished project. Displaying the images along the 6-mile stretch of University Avenue just serves as a reminder of all the different cultures within the community. For me personally, it also serves as enouragement to explore and learn more about them. 

Another 3 hour night class done! Yay! This week we got to hear from two guest speakers, Mr. Long Yang and Ms. Choua Thao. Mr. Yang was the first to speak. He began giving us an overview of the history of the Hmong people and the Secret War, as well as his involvement in it. Contrary to what you would think upon first meeting him, Mr. Yang used to work for the CIA. This short man in an earth-toned sweater and broken english played many important roles for the US government while he was in Laos. Later, when given the choice of 'a low paying job in America or burned in Laos' he came to the United States. Ms. Thao was also a great help to the US durring the war. She was a nurse for the army while training and watching over many Hmong nurses. Again like Mr. Yang, Ms. Thao was very different from the first impression I got of her. This little, old, Hmong lady had more attitude than anyone I've met in a long time. The two things that Ms. Thao was sure to leave us all with was that no matter what, we need to dream big and be a good advocate for ourselves and the people we serve.

Suprisingly, I'm still not tired of learnig about the Hmong culture and their history in the Secret War. I love that every single person we've heard from has given a different perspective to the story. Middle of Everywhere gave insight to immigration in general while Kalia and her book gave ingisht to the life of an immigrant child and life in America. At the Hmong culture center, we got more history of the Hmong. Yesterday we added another piece to our puzzle as we learned of two people both old enough to clearly remember the war and the transition to America.

As I sat and listened to the two speakers tonight, I was moved by what they had done with their situations. I enjoyed listening to Ms. Thao the most. Her stories about training the nurses and working/ fighting with the government to make things work cracked me up while still getting her messages across. I think her first bit was the most important, that we should always have a dream. No matter how big or small it is, a dream is so important to have because it gives you a goal and passion to pursue that goal.  

Wow! Who would have thought such a small little buliding could hold so much valuble information?! Honestly, last night was the first time that the buliding had been on my mind for longer than 30 seconds. I knew it existed and that was about it. In the hour we spent there, I learned so much more about the Hmong culture and Concordia's involvement in it.

As always,  I was the last one to get there seeing how I had gotten out of class at 6:57 so I came in a bit flustered. We started off with Professor Lee Pao Xiong explaining to us just how deep Concordia's involvement in Hmong life it. I had no idea little old Concordia was the first place in the world to offer a Hmong Studies minor! It was kind of sad to learn that for how deep our connections go, when we hold lectures or other Hmong events such a small percentage of attendees are from here. After an overview of the Hmong Studies on campus, Prof. Xiong told us a little about his past as well. He was an immigrant as well and actually lived in the secret US camp in Laos where his father was stationed. This reminded me a lot of Kalia's stories from when she came and spoke with us. In fact, her and Lee lived at the same refugee camp! From what we've been told though, Prof. Xiong's experience was much more pleasant than Kalia's presumably becasue of his father's standings with the US government. Finally, we took a short tour of the Center for Hmong Studies and got a chance to look at some of the artifacts we have here.

Our visit to the Hmong Center  opened my eyes a lot more than I thought it would. I didn't even know that the big biannual lectures even existed! Now, I will definitley look out for them, and may even volunteer for them! I was glad to learn as well that the Center is open to everyone. I think I may be stopping by there everynow and then to look closer at the artifacts or even just for a quiet study spot! 

I finally made it to Gran Torino!! It seemed like everyone I knew had been before I got the chance to see it. My parents even saw it before me, they NEVER go to movies! Consequently, I had heard everything about the movie expect for its actual premise. People told me the language was too much, it's going to make me cry (it didn't), some of the actors are from St. Paul.... and so on. The general concensis was that I would love it though, and I did.

Gran Torino takes place in a predominantly Hmong neighborhood in the Midwest. The main character, Walter Kowalski, was your typical grumpy old man, bitter and very racist after his experience in the war which he holds secret for a majority of the movie. As the movie progresses, he (against his own wishes) befriends two of his neighbors; Thao and his sister Sue Vang Lor. Thao is facing extreme pressure to join a gang lead by his cousin, and his way in is to steal Walt's Gran Torino. As Thao and Walt become closer, Walt feels the need to protect him from the pressures of the gang. When the gang does a drive-by shooting on Thao and Sue's house and beat & rape Sue, it is the last straw. While Thao is eager to seek revenge, Walter comes up with a 'better' plan. He visits the gang on their territory and makes them think he it pulling a gun, so they all shoot him with the whole neighborhood as a witness. Though Walter loses his own life, he does something that means much more to him: getting the gang put in jail. He give the life back to one Hmong boy after years of guilt over the life of the young boy that he took in Vietnam.  

From what I heard, I took this movie a lot differently that most people did. I didn't cry when Sue came in all bloodied up, I didn't cry and quite frankly I wasn't even suprised when Walt died. The things that hit me were the liking Walter took to his young Hmong neighbors, and oddly, the credits. I felt like I related very well to Sue, so when she was the one that came back beat up, I was a bit shocked but I did not cry. I felt like she was the strongest character in the movie. She stepped out of her boundaries many times to teach 'Wally' little things about the Hmong culture. Once Walt learned something about the culture, he quickly lost much of his prejudice. The other thing that stood out to me in the movie was the credits. When the movie ended, it didn't simply go to the black screen for the credits to roll over, it stayed on the image of the road that Thao and Walt's dog were driving down, Call me a nerd, but I LOVED this ending. It was the perfect contrast to Walt just dying. This way the viewer wouldn't focus on the somberness of death, but on the opportunities that Walt's choice opened up.

Another thing I loved was the way this movie fit into the rest of the course so far. Though the contrast was huge between Kalia's flowing, poetic memoir and Eastwood's rough, in-your-face movie, it was perfect. It gave us an opportunity to see similar stories in a completely different light. Also, it fit well with our winter reading The Middle of Everywhere. The challenges that Thao faces are very similar to those we read about there. Personally, I really liked the diversity that this movie provided to the course. It was nice to get out and DO something for class rather than just sitting and reading something.